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Jenni Saarinen

Since Nicky Slater reckons that she is a star for the future, I thought I would get in early and start a fan thread for Jenni Saarinen!

OK, so the fact that I have a specific question I want to ask about her might have something to do with it too...

Ever since I saw Jenni’s name on the entry list for the 2013 Junior Worlds, I have been wondering something:

Does anybody know if Jenni is in any way related to the (still much-missed) Finnish motorbike racer Jarno Saarinen?

Jarno Saarinen was the 250cc World Champion in 1972, and is still the only Finn to win a tarmac motorcycle world championship. But he died the following year in a crash during the Italian Grand Prix at Monza.

As I wasn’t born until 12 years after his accident, I don’t know anything about Jarno’s family. So, I don’t know if he managed to have any children, or if he had any siblings, that Jenni might be descended from.

Now, I know from her ISU Bio that Jenni is originally from Espoo, while Jarno was from Turku. Although the 2 towns are 100 miles apart, that is not much in a country as large as Finland. So, it might be possible that they are related in some way.

On the other hand, in a country with as small a population as Finland’s, it is possible that Saarinen is a very common surname! So, it might be just coincidence.

I just don’t know enough about Finland to judge whether it is plausible.

So, can anybody shed any light on the matter?

Before I go, may I just congratulate Jenni on her results in Junior Worlds. She was the youngest girl in the competition, so to finish 14th overall out of such a big field was brilliant! Considering she is so young, her performances in both the Short (19th/45) and the Free (13th/24) were very impressive.

OK, so she is not yet in the same league as Elena Radionova or Annabelle Prölß, who were born in the same year but are already big stars. But the potential is there...

CaroLiza_fan

Update: June 2015

Summary

Jenni Saarinen was born in Espoo, Finland, in March 1999. She is managed by 2009 European Champion Laura Lepistö, who was also born in Espoo.

Jenni has been competing on the international circuit since the 2011-12 season, when she was competing at Advanced Novice level. In December 2011, she finished a credible 4th in her international debut at the NRW Trophy in Germany. In February 2012, she won her first international medal when she won the silver at the Nordic Championships, held that year in Finland. And then, a month later, Jenni came back from 5th in the SP to win her first international gold medal at the Coupe du Printemps in Luxembourg.

She moved up to Junior level in the 2012-13 season, and instantly made her mark by winning the gold at the Ice Star in Minsk. This was followed by a bronze at the Coupe de Nice, a gold at the Finnish Championships, and a gold at the Nordic Championships. Towards the end of the season, Jenni made her debut at the Junior World Championships in Italy, where she finished 14th.

The 2013-14 was to be even more successful. At the start of the season, Jenni appeared at 2 Junior Grand Prix events. She was 4th in the SP at the Baltic Cup, and 6th in the SP at Czech Skate. Unfortunately, multiple falls in the Free Skates at both events dropped her down the order. But, she still managed to finish in the top 10 overall at both events.

She quickly bounced back from any disappointment, though, by having a clean sweep of 1st places at the Finnish Championships, followed by a gold in one of the Junior competitions at the Bavarian Open, and then another clean sweep of 1st places at the Nordic Championships (where she also achieved her international PB). She also improved her overall position at Junior Worlds, finishing 13th.

This season (2014-15) has been a transitional year for Jenni, as she has been competing in Junior and Senior events.

At the start of the season, she finished 9th in both her Junior Grand Prix appearances. She was actually 3rd in the SP at the Japanese round, but any chances of a podium were undone by FOUR falls in the FS.

But, she quickly bounced back in the senior competitions that followed, with 5th at the Finlandia, a bronze at the Volvo Open in Latvia, and a silver at the Finnish Championships. Significantly, she was 1st in the SP at the Volvo Open, and only Kiira Korpi was above her in all the results tables at Nationals. Returning to Juniors, she finished 4th at the EYOF in Austria, and then repeated her 13th position from the previous season at Junior Worlds (albeit with a lower score).

Finally, Jenni capped off the season by winning her first senior gold medal at the Nordics. The interesting thing to note here is that she did not win either segment – she was 2nd in both the SP and the FS. But, it was different skaters that won each segment. So, it was actually Jenni’s consistency that won her the competition.

If Jenni can continue to be consistent like this, rather than having wildly different positions in each segment (like she has done at every Junior Grand Prix she has competed at), then we have the makings of a very good skater.

And having Laura Lepistö in her corner will be a great help for Jenni.

Over the past decade, Kiira Korpi and Laura Lepistö have had a lot of success. But despite this, things were looking very worrying for Finnish Skating as, for a long time there, it looked like there was nobody to succeed them.

It doesn't say anything about her family, but she won Jr Ladies at the Nordics this season.

Wow! I just had a look at the website, and that is a very impressive record she has! Nicky mightn't have been too wrong when he said she could be the next Kiira Korpi!

Originally Posted by Sara

Very nice to see that Jenni has been noticed in the JWC! She is a very talented young girl indeed. Jenni trains together with Kiira Korpi at Tappara skating club. What comes to her last name, Saarinen is extremely common name here in Finland and therefore I doubt that she is related to Jarno Saarinen. If you just google with "Saarinen", you can see how common name it is.

Doh! I never actually thought of just searching for "Saarinen" in Google! Instead, I just went straight into Wikipedia and looked up Jarno, and then Jenni!

But, I did the Google search there now, and I see what you mean about it being a common surname. I also did the same search in Wikipedia, and found that the "Saarinen" page had links to 18 people's Wikipedia pages listed on it. It now has 19, because I just added a link to Jenni's Wikipedia page!!! :D

Motorbike racing has always been my first love, and it always will be. So, when I saw Jenni's surname in the entry list, the first thing that came into my head was Jarno. I knew it was a long shot, but curiosity just got the better of me!

Originally Posted by Sara

Finland has several promising junior skaters. In my opinion Jenni is the most promising one but there's also Liubov Efimenko (born 1999) from Lahti who is extremely talented, as well as Lyydia Määttänen (born 1998) who trains with Jenni and Kiira.

Put it like this: if these 3 girls are anything to go by, Finland has nothing to worry about when Kiira follows Laura Lepistö into retirement!!! (Not that I hope that happens any time soon - I am a big Kiira fan. She is the most beautiful, graceful skater there has been in recent years. But, all good things come to an end, and I feel that it will not be long until Kiira takes that step. Especially since she is not going to Worlds this year...)

All 3 of these girls do look very promising. But from what little of them I have seen, I would agree with your assessment that Jenni is the most promising.

But, it is good to see that the future of Finnish skating is looking bright.

Jenni was third in the Volvo Open Cup. She even won the sp even though her bag with skates and the dress were missing. She was allowed to skate last in case they would arrive. There were only two skaters before her when she got her skates and dress and then won the sp. Well done!

It was her second international senior competition and her first senior medal.

Very nice to see that Jenni has been noticed in the JWC! She is a very talented young girl indeed. Jenni trains together with Kiira Korpi at Tappara skating club. What comes to her last name, Saarinen is extremely common name here in Finland and therefore I doubt that she is related to Jarno Saarinen. If you just google with "Saarinen", you can see how common name it is. Finland has several promising junior skaters. In my opinion Jenni is the most promising one but there's also Liubov Efimenko (born 1999) from Lahti who is extremely talented, as well as Lyydia Määttänen (born 1998) who trains with Jenni and Kiira.

Very nice to see that Jenni has been noticed in the JWC! She is a very talented young girl indeed. Jenni trains together with Kiira Korpi at Tappara skating club. What comes to her last name, Saarinen is extremely common name here in Finland and therefore I doubt that she is related to Jarno Saarinen. If you just google with "Saarinen", you can see how common name it is. Finland has several promising junior skaters. In my opinion Jenni is the most promising one but there's also Liubov Efimenko (born 1999) from Lahti who is extremely talented, as well as Lyydia Määttänen (born 1998) who trains with Jenni and Kiira.